Advanced Nursing Practice 2 Essay

According to the World Health Organization, universal health coverage refers to the provision of health care services needed to all people without subjecting them to high fees for the same services (Dye et al, 2013). Its goal is to ensure that each and every person have access to health services they need without experiencing financial challenges when they pay for them.
Communities and countries can achieve universal health coverage by putting in place several factors. The factors include a health system that is well-run, efficient, and stable that is well equipped to meet health needs that have been prioritized and which focus on integrating care for the people. The health services encompass those for tuberculosis, non-communicable diseases, malaria, HIV, and child and maternal health (Dye et al, 2013). In addition, the other factors countries must put in place include the affordability of the health services, access to critical technologies and medicines to diagnose medical problems and treat them, and a capacity, that is sufficient, of health workers who are well trained and can thus provide healthcare services that meet all the needs of patients. Universal healthcare coverage, according to World Health Organization, is not an isolated issue; it requires that the important role played by various sectors of an economy, such as education and transport, in assuring the health of humans is recognized (World Health Organization, 2014). The WHO intimates that universal health coverage is a crucial component that can foster sustainable development; reduce poverty and an important element of efforts to ensure social equity. To sum it all up, WHO believes that the adoption of universal health coverage by a government is a pointer to the level of commitment the government has when it comes to improving the wellbeing of the citizens.
In the United States, the WHO definition of universal health care coverage does not apply. Universal health care is defined as a basic guarantee of health care to all of its citizens. Surprisingly, the United States of America is the only industrialized country in the world that lacks any form of universal health coverage (Casoy, 2008). Healthcare is a basic right in most countries, but in the US healthcare is treated as a privilege that is available to those who can pay for it. Healthcare in the US remains an economic good like a fridge; it is yet to be institutionalized as a public or social good. Due to the treatment of healthcare as a privilege in United States, 45 million Americans remain and they have to dig deep into their pockets to cater for their health care needs and this can lead to this population slipping into poverty (Casoy, 2008).
Universal healthcare coverage is a concept that is viewed as a basic guarantee of health care to all of its citizens among all health care providers more so the advanced nursing practice nurses. Most healthcare providers believe that every American should access universal healthcare so that they do not slip into poverty and poorer health as a result of expensive healthcare services. Universal health care coverage programs will be a shot in the arm of uninsured people, and it will go a long way in ensuring equal opportunity (Casoy, 2008).
Moreover, at the Declaration of Independence, the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness were declared as inalienable rights. It is the prerogative of healthcare providers to protect the right to life. The American healthcare system in its current form denies the citizens' access to lifesaving treatments and medications. Americans believe in the right to the pursuit of happiness, and this right can be guaranteed by ensuring people are insured and have access to affordable healthcare (Casoy, 2008). Healthcare providers plays a great role in alleviating suffering in patients thus enabling them to reclaim their happiness.

References

Casoy, F. (2008, January 1). The Case for Universal Health Care. Retrieved February 25, 2015.
Dye, C., Boerma, T., Evans, D., & Lienhardt, C. (2013, August 1). Research for Universal Health Coverage. Retrieved February 24, 2015, from http://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/10665/85761/2/9789240690837_eng.pdf
World Health Organization. (2014, December 1). What is universal health coverage. Retrieved February 24, 2015, from http://www.who.int/features/qa/universal_health_coverage/en/